Broken Path: Book 1: Blazing Light
by Branchwing
Summary: Many seasons after the Great Battle, Doepaw, an apprentice of WindClan, learns of a mysterious prophecy that will determine the future of her and the rest of the Clans. Meanwhile, Hazelpaw, a ThunderClan apprentice, learns of the same prophecy, and the two apprentices must find out the meaning of this prophecy before it's too late. Rated T because it's Warriors.
1. Allegiances and Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Warriors or any of the Clans! I only own most of the characters and the plot! Pureheart and Twigpelt are my sisters OCs!**

* * *

 **Allegiances**

 **WindClan**

 ** _Leader_** Spiderstar – Jet black tom with white paws and amber eyes

 ** _Deputy_** Branchwing – Gray tabby she-cat with black stripes and green eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Pinepaw_**

 ** _Medicine Cat_** Raindapple – Pale gray she-cat with sky-blue eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Owlpaw_**

 ** _Warriors (toms, and she-cats without kits)_**

Robinfeather – Pale brown she-cat with amber eyes

Harefoot – Fluffy white tom with leaf-green eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Doepaw_**

Leafpelt – Gray tabby she-cat with green eyes

Littletail – Dark gray tom with a stubby tail

Bramblestripe – Huge dark tabby tom with yellow eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Kestrelpaw_**

Dustfur – Brownish gray (with dark flecks) tom with dark blue eyes

Swiftbreeze – Dappled gray she-cat with blue eyes

Crowclaw – Black tom with sharp claws and yellow eyes

Ashcloud – Mottled gray tom

 ** _Apprentices (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)_**

Doepaw – Brown she-cat with a white belly and green eyes

Pinepaw – Brown tom with amber eyes

Owlpaw – Dark brown tabby tom with yellow eyes

Kestrelpaw – Gray she-cat with blue eyes

 ** _Queens (she-cats expecting or nursing kits)_**

Featherflight – Silver tabby she-cat with green eyes, mother to Eaglekit (White tom with green eyes)

Maplestripe – Tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes, mother to Fernkit (Gray she-kit) and Swallowkit (Tortoiseshell she-kit)

 ** _Elders (former warriors and queens, now retired)_**

Foxfur – Ginger tom with pale blue eyes

 **ThunderClan**

 ** _Leader_** Sorrelstar – Tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

 ** _Deputy_** Acornfoot – Brown tom with yellow eyes

 ** _Medicine Cat_** Mousefrost – Gray she-cat with amber eyes

 ** _Warriors_**

Frostwhisker – White she-cat with icy blue eyes

Hawkclaw – Huge tabby tom with yellow eyes

Snaketail – Pale tabby tom with a slender tail

Waspsong – Gray tabby tom with jet black stripes and amber eyes

Ivyheart – Silver tabby she-cat with white paws and dark blue eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Hazelpaw_**

Willowwhisker – Tawny tabby she-cat with leaf-green eyes

Twigpelt – Brown tabby tom with white paws and a white spot over his left eye

 ** _Apprentice, Cinderpaw_**

Pureheart – White she-cat with green eyes

Amberstone – Pale ginger she-cat with gray eyes

Pinestem – Dark brown tom with amber eyes

Honeyfern – Brown tabby she-cat with black stripes and yellow eyes

Ivygaze – Silver she-cat with sky-blue eyes

Paleheart – Pale gray tabby she-cat torn ears and amber eyes

Cloudmist – White tom with gray flecks

Swiftfur – Skinny dark gray tabby tom with pale blue eyes

Crowwish – Black she-cat with multiple scars and yellow eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Dapplepaw_**

Branchberry – Gray she-cat with small black spots and sky-blue eyes

 ** _Apprentices_**

Hazelpaw – Tawny tabby she-cat with green eyes

Cinderpaw – Light gray she-cat with blue eyes

Dapplepaw – Dappled tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

 ** _Queens_**

Brighteyes – Pale golden she-cat with ice-blue eyes, expecting Cloudmist's kits

Ravenflame – Black she-cat with a white chest and amber eyes, mother to Mudkit (Brown tom with amber eyes), Quailkit (Dark gray tabby she-kit with yellow eyes), and Sparrowkit (Dark tabby she-kit with amber eyes)

 ** _Elders_**

Petalthorn – Longhaired russet she-cat with blue eyes

 **ShadowClan**

 ** _Leader_** Beetlestar – Pale ginger tom

 ** _Deputy_** Adderstrike – Dark gray tom with yellow eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Frogpaw_**

 ** _Medicine Cat_** Darkheart – Black tom with amber eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Spottedpaw_**

 ** _Warriors_**

Thistlethorn – Longhaired white and gray tom

Cedarleaf – Brown she-cat with torn ears and yellow eyes

Darkpuddle – Black tabby tom with yellow eyes

Icespirit – White she-cat with pale blue eyes

 ** _Apprentice, Ravenpaw_**

Ashencloud – Smokey gray she-cat with green eyes

Pigeonflame – Light gray tom with blue eyes

Squirrelfang – Fluffy dark ginger she-cat with sharp claws and green eyes

Hawktalon – Dark tabby tom with a white underbelly and amber eyes

Blizzardflower – Silver tabby she-cat with ice-blue eyes

Sootstrike – Small mottled gray tom with green eyes

Blackdust – Small white she-cat with a black face, paws, and tail and blue eyes

Wolfclaw – Well-muscled dark gray tom with amber eyes

Darkwhisker – Russet tabby she-cat with blue eyes

 ** _Apprentices_**

Spottedpaw – Tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

Ravenpaw – Pale gray tabby she-cat with a black tail tip

 ** _Queens_**

Willowfrost – Gray she-cat with green eyes, expecting Pigeonflame's kits

 ** _Elders_**

Tatteredfur – Battle-scarred dark tabby tom with messy fur

 **RiverClan**

 ** _Leader_** Mothstar – Golden tabby she-cat with gray eyes

 ** _Deputy_** Pebblestep – Dappled gray she-cat with sky-blue eyes

 ** _Medicine Cat_** Ripplerock – Blue-gray she-cat with blue eyes

 ** _Warriors_**

Shellblaze – Gray tabby tom with amber eyes

Stonebranch – Dark gray tom with yellow eyes

Swiftfleck – Tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

Clovercloud – Black and white she-cat with green eyes

Splashpelt – Pale gray she-cat with blue eyes

Jaggedfeather – White tom with brown patches and amber eyes

Applestreak – Russet tom with a white chest

Runningfern – White she-cat with blue eyes

Cedarleaf – Brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Stormsong – Black tom with several scars and yellow eyes

Spottedmist – Dappled gray she-cat with pale green eyes

 ** _Apprentices_**

Rainpaw – Gray she-cat with a white chest and blue eyes

Goosepaw – Gray (with dark flecks) tom with yellow eyes

Berrypaw – Cream she-cat with green eyes

 ** _Queens_**

Fawnlight – Ginger she-cat with green eyes, mother to Perchkit (Dark ginger she-kit with green eyes) and Gingerkit (Ginger she-kit with blue eyes)

 ** _Elders_**

Smallthorn – Small dark gray tom with fur sticking out in many directions

Buzzardstripe – Tawny tabby tom with amber eyes

 **Cats Outside Clans**

Jay – Pale gray tabby tom with ice-blue eyes

Sparrow – Black, slender she-cat with amber eyes

Vixen – Dark ginger tom with a white underbelly, paws, and tail tip, a kittypet

* * *

 **Prologue**

In the middle of a clearing was a small pool of water. A small gray cat padded up to it, followed by a few more cats.

"StarClan, I fear a path of bloodshed may be upon us, with many lives lost," the gray tom announced. "But, there is one hope. Doepaw, a WindClan apprentice, is destined to stop this from happening."

"Specklestar, do you think an apprentice will be able to stop this threat?" a she-cat spoke up.

"Yes, Springbreeze, I'm sure she will be able to stop it," Specklestar meowed. "But she will need help. That is why I asked Redstar to come here."

A dark ginger she-cat slinked her way throughout the crowd. "Now, I have to choose the ThunderClan cat that will help her," Redstar announced.

Springbreeze nodded. "Alright… WindClan and ThunderClan were allies in the past, after all."

Redstar focused her gaze on a tawny tabby she-cat about the size of an apprentice eating a piece of fresh-kill.

Specklestar turned towards Redstar. "Are you sure about this cat?" he asked.

Redstar nodded. "Yes, Doepaw and Hazelpaw should be able to get along well. Both cats have great potential as warriors," she meowed calmly.

The gray cat nodded. "Alright, it will be those two cats then."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry the prologue isn't very long and that there isn't many cats. In this story, the Clans are enduring a major outbreak of greencough that caused the deaths of many cats, including the previous ThunderClan leader. I promise you that the next chapter will be longer than the prologue. If you liked it, I would appreciate it if you gave a review.**


	2. Chapter 1

Doepaw laid down and looked at her brother, Pinepaw, who was eating a piece of fresh-kill.

"So… Pinepaw, how was your training today?" Doepaw asked, curious.

Pinepaw glared at Doepaw. "Why do _you_ want to know, exactly?"

"Well… I just want to know," she answered.

"Oh, alright. Branchwing showed me some cool battle moves today," he meowed, annoyed. Doepaw frowned.

"Harefoot was showing me some techniques for hunting," she meowed. "He said I would become a great hunter someday."

Pinepaw got up and put his back up into an arch, hissing. "I think you would be better off being a medicine cat, rabbit-brain!"

Doepaw frowned. He would never act that like when he was a kit. Pinepaw got down and curled up into a ball of brown fur. She did the same.

 _I feel like Branchwing is having a bad influence on Pinepaw… No… She's the deputy! She's not the horrid monster known as Brokenstar or anything,_ Doepaw wondered as she drifted off to sleep.

Doepaw woke up in a large field of blood. She looked around. Cats everywhere were dead. She padded around the field and saw a large pine tree with huge branches.

 _The branches of the pine will be taken down by a doe near the hazel tree,_ an unfamiliar voice echoed. Doepaw looked around for the source of the voice, to find no living cat. The world turned dark as her vision blurred. Soon, she could see nothing.

Doepaw woke up with a start. Kestrelpaw, another apprentice, looked at her, slightly annoyed.

"Great StarClan... I couldn't sleep at all with all of the noise you made Doepaw…" Kestrelpaw scolded.

She frowned. "Sorry…"

Kestrelpaw glared at Doepaw. She got up, and started to look around for her mentor, Harefoot.

"Doepaw!" she heard a voice yowl. Doepaw turned around to see a white tom with green eyes staring down at her. It was Harefoot.

"Oh, hi Harefoot! What are we going to do today?" she asked.

"We're going to work on your battle skills," he instructed. Doepaw nodded as she started to follow Harefoot. They arrived at a flat meadow at the edge of WindClan territory.

"Are we here?" the she-cat asked.

He nodded. "Yep. Now, 'attack' me as best as you can with your claws sheathed. Biting to kill should only be used when hunting."

Doepaw lept at her mentor, swiping at his flank. Harefoot responded by pouncing on her, pinning her down. She pawed at the white tom, making him loosen the grip on her. Doepaw repeated this until she broke free, pouncing on him. Harefoot was pinned down, and he smiled.

"That was good, you can let me go now," he meowed. Doepaw obeyed his command and got off of him. Harefoot got up, purring in delight.

"Are we going to do anything else?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No. However, the gathering is today!"

Doepaw's ears perked up. "Ooh… Can I go?"

Harefoot nodded. "If Spiderstar allows you to, yes."

"Can we go ask him now?"

"Alright."

The two cats padded up to Spiderstar, who was talking to Bramblestripe, Doepaw's father.

"Hi Bramblestripe! Hi Spiderstar!" she greeted cheerfully.

Bramblestripe turned around and purred in delight. "Hello Doepaw, Harefoot. Why are you here?"

"I want to go to the gathering!" Doepaw blurted out.

Spiderstar looked at the she-cat in shock. "I was planning to tell you that after I was finished talking to your father… but I guess I don't need to do that now," he explained.

She nodded. "Ok!"

Doepaw padded to the Medicine Cat's den to see her other brother, Owlpaw. She saw the tabby tom sorting out herbs with Raindapple, the medicine cat. The she-cat turned around to see Doepaw standing in front of them.

"Oh… Hi Doepaw… Why are you here?" she asked in confusion.

"Can I talk to Owlpaw?" the brown she-cat replied. Owlpaw turned around when he heard his name.

"Why, of course you can! Just make it quick, ok?" Raindapple answered. And with that, Owlpaw and Doepaw slinked off to a far side of the camp.

"Why did you want to talk to me?" the tom asked.

"…Did you get a prophecy at all when you went to the Moonpool at the last half moon?"

Owlpaw looked at his sister like she was crazy. "And why do you want to know that?"

"You see… I had a dream about cats drenched in blood, and a cat whispered a prophecy… 'The branches of the pine will be taken down by a doe near the hazel tree.' I was wondering if you had heard it while you were at the Moonpool," Doepaw explained.

"In fact… I had that same dream at the Moonpool…" he meowed, embarrassed. "StarClan's prophecies are indeed confusing."

 _Still… I wonder what that prophecy means…_

* * *

 **A/N: First chapter done! So, each chapter, the point of views will alternate between Doepaw and Hazelpaw each chapter, with other characters being the main point of view from time to time. I would appreciate it if you gave a review, now that there is actually some story.**


	3. Chapter 2

A tawny tabby she-cat purred as her sister followed her to the Gathering Island.

"Say, Cinderpaw, I wonder who the other Clan leaders are…" the she-cat asked.

The light gray she-cat rolled her eyes. "What are you? Mouse-brained? The WindClan leader is Spiderstar, the ShadowClan leader is Beetlestar, and the RiverClan leader is Mothstar."

The apprenticed glared at Cinderpaw. "It was just a question, there's no need to be rude."

"Hazelpaw, when will you ever learn to listen better to Sorrelstar? She's leader, for StarClan's sake!"

A brown tabby tom glared at Cinderpaw, not very happy at her.

"Sorry Twigpelt…" she muttered.

"Please stop being rude to your sister," he instructed. The group of ThunderClan cats crossed the tree trunk to find that WindClan was already there.

"Great… WindClan…" Hazelpaw heard Snaketail, another ThunderClan cat, mutter.

Hazelpaw decided to walk over to the WindClan apprentices that were already there. She padded up to a brown she-cat with green eyes with a white belly.

"H-Hi… I'm Hazelpaw… Who are you?" she asked.

The she-cat turned around in surprise. "Huh? A ThunderClan apprentice? Well, my name is Doepaw," the apprentice greeted as her eyes met Hazelpaw's green eyes.

"Nice to meet you… Who are those other apprentices?" She flickered her tail towards two toms, one who was beside a medicine cat.

 _That tabby tom must be the medicine cat apprentice,_ Hazelpaw thought.

"Them? Those are my brothers, Pinepaw and Owlpaw. Pinepaw is Branchwing's, the WindClan deputy, apprentice, while Owlpaw is the medicine cat apprentice," Doepaw meowed.

Hazelpaw nodded. "Wow! Pinepaw is so lucky to be the deputy's apprentice! Also, my sister is here with me! Her name is Cinderpaw!" She flicked her tail towards the gray apprentice.

A brown tom padded up to the two she-cats, glaring at them. "Be quiet, the Gathering is going to start soon," he grumbled.

Hazelpaw looked at the tom. "Are you the 'Pinepaw' Doepaw was talking about?"

The apprentice nodded. "Yes. Anyways, I can see some ShadowClan cats here already."

Doepaw nodded. "Yeah, we should be quiet now…"

Hazelpaw watched as RiverClan cats came, waiting until the gathering starts. Soon enough, four leaders leapt up, ready.

"Let the Gathering begin!" a pale ginger tom announced. It was the leader of ShadowClan, Beetlestar, and was the eldest of the leaders. "Mothstar, you may go first."

A golden tabby she-cat nodded. "Alright. RiverClan has been doing well. Two new kits were born to Fawnlight this moon – Perchkit and Gingerkit. We also have a new warrior, Shellblaze."

"Shellblaze! Shellblaze!" multiple cats cheered. A gray tabby tom stood up.

 _He must be Shellblaze,_ Hazelpaw thought.

A black tom with white paws then spoke. "One warrior and an elder has died from greencough in WindClan. However, we are doing well. We have three new apprentices this moon, Pinepaw, Owlpaw, and Doepaw, and two new kits that were born to Maplestripe, Fernkit and Swallowkit," he yowled. It was Spiderstar, the WindClan leader.

"Pinepaw! Owlpaw! Doepaw!" cats cheered.

Beetlestar stepped up next. "Greencough has killed three warriors and an elder this moon, leaving ShadowClan weak. I have also lost one of my lives from greencough, and I may be joining StarClan soon. We are low on catmint, and would be grateful if other medicine cats would give some to us."

Last but not least, Sorrelstar, the ThunderClan leader, spoke. "Mossstar has lost her last life to greencough, and I have taken her place as the ThunderClan leader. The new deputy is Acornfoot. Meanwhile, we have two new apprentices – Hazelpaw and Cinderpaw."

"Hazelpaw! Cinderpaw! Acornfoot!" several cats cheered.

Sorrelstar nodded. "I also give permission for ShadowClan to come get catmint on our territory."

Beetlestar nodded. "Alright then, let the gathering end!"

Hazelpaw followed Sorrelstar out of the clearing and back into ThunderClan camp. She padded to the Apprentices' den, trying to get comfortable.

Dapplepaw, another ThunderClan apprentice, looked up at the tawny she-cat. "Oh great, the gathering is over… I hope I can go next moon…" she mewed sleepily.

Hazelpaw smiled. "I'm sure you will, you just have to work harder."

"Like that will ever happen…" Dapplepaw sighed. "Just let me sleep…"

"Alright," she mewed. Hazelpaw drifted off to sleep, the world around her turning pitch black.

Moments later, the light hit her eyes. She took a little time to get adjusted to the light, and found herself standing in front of a brown tom with amber eyes glaring at her.

 _Pinepaw!_ Hazelpaw realized. But why was he here? She shook away the thought. It didn't matter if Pinepaw was here, but she knew trouble will come. Moments later, the apprentice dove at Hazelpaw, pinning her down. She winced in pain as his claws sunk into her shoulders.

"What are you doing?!" she cried, confused.

Pinepaw smirked. "I'm just making sure you don't live for the battle!"

"What battle? I don't know of any battle!" she exclaimed in pure confusion.

"Oh, you haven't heard of the prophecy," the tom realized.

"What prophecy? I need answers!"

A brown blur tackled the WindClan apprentice, making him let go of Hazelpaw. When she stood up, she saw a brown tabby tom with green eyes with small stars in his pelt.

 _Buzzardstorm!_ she exclaimed silently. Buzzardstorm was Hazelpaw's older brother, who was killed by a fox when she was a kit.

"…Buzzardstorm?! Is that really you?" she stuttered.

The tom nodded. "Yes. I came here to give you a prophecy," he meowed.

Hazelpaw's eyes widen. "Ooh, what is it?" she asked.

 _"_ _The branches of the pine will be taken down by a doe near the hazel tree,"_ Buzzardstorm meowed. He started to fade.

"No! Buzzardstorm! Don't go!" she cried. Soon, the darkness swallowed her, and she woke up.

Cinderpaw looked at Hazelpaw, annoyed. "Can you please stop kicking me?" she hissed.

She frowned. "Sorry…"

The two apprentices got up at padded out of the Apprentices' den, squinting as the light grew brighter. They padded over to Willowwhisker, their mother.

"Hi Willowwhisker!" Cinderpaw greeted.

Willowwhisker purred in delight. "Why hello, precious kits."

Hazelpaw sighed. "You know we are _apprentices_ now," she meowed.

The tawny tabby nodded. "I know. Anyways, I'm expecting kits!" she purred.

Cinderpaw's eyes widen. "Expecting kits? Does that mean we'll have brothers and sisters?!" she exclaimed.

Willowwhisker nodded. "Maybe, but who knows what kits I will have. This _is_ my third litter of kits, after all."

The two apprentices nodded. "I have a question," Hazelpaw spoke up. "How come Cinderpaw is gray?"

"Well, Waspsong is my brother, and Swiftfur is my father," the she-cat meowed.

"What happened to your mother?" Cinderpaw asked.

"My mother… she died at our kitting…" Willowwhisker meowed with grief. "You could ask Petalthorn who she is, she was her first apprentice."

Hazelpaw frowned. "Poor her…"

Cinderpaw and Hazelpaw decided to go to the Elders' den to talk to Petalthorn about Willowwhisker's mother when Hawkclaw padded in carrying a brown and black body. Acornfur instantly recognized the body.

"Honeyfern!"

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry it took so long to update. Anyways, I left you off with a cliffhanger, in which what happened will be revealed in chapter four. The chapters are going to alternate between Doepaw's and Hazelpaw's perspective, just so you know. Also, I know it seems strange that Willowwhisker is already expecting kits, even though her kits became apprentices a half-moon prior to the events of this fanfiction. Blame me for that, I didn't realize it until after I wrote this chapter .. Anyways, with that, Branchwing, out!**


	4. Chapter 3

Doepaw followed Harefoot to the same clearing they went to the sunrise before to once again, practicing battle skills.

"Ok Doepaw, today we will practice dodging attacks," the tom instructed.

She nodded and tried to paw at Harefoot's chest, but he dodged.

"Basically, get out of the way if a cat tries to attack you, alright?" he meowed.

Doepaw nodded. Harefoot first tried to pounce on her, but she got out of the way. He tried again, but she dodged once more. This kept repeating until Harefoot finally pounced on her after multiple tries, pinning her down.

"Good job," he complimented. Harefoot got off of the brown she-cat, and meowed, "Let's practice that again."

The white tom tried to pounce on her, but Doepaw dodged. He then tried to swipe at her flank, which hit her. He tried again, which in this time, the she-cat successfully dodged. Harefoot stopped attacking his apprentice, and nodded.

"Good. That's all for today," he meowed. "Now, how about we go hunting so we can bring back some fresh-kill for the Clan?"

Doepaw nodded. "Sure! After all, the Clan comes first!" she mewed. She sniffed around the area. The scent of rabbit was present, so she decided to hunt that. She got down in a crouch, following the scent. Soon, a rabbit came into sight. The she-cat tried pouncing, but the rabbit managed to get away. Doepaw started to chase after it, catching up with it. After a bit of running, she pounced on it, capturing the rabbit. The brown apprentice sunk her teeth into it, killing it. She stood up, the dead rabbit dangling from her jaws.

"I caught something!" she yowled, which was muffled by the rabbit fur. She looked at Harefoot, who was padding up to her.

"Great job, Doepaw! That is a big, plump rabbit you have there, it could feed the kits for a moon!" he purred in delight.

Doepaw smiled. "Why, thank you!"

He smiled. "You're welcome! Now, let's get back to camp."

The two cats padded back to WindClan camp, with a silver tabby she-cat with a white tom kit waiting for them.

"Hi, Featherflight, Eaglekit," Harefoot purred in delight. He licked Eaglekit, happy.

Doepaw turned to her mentor. "Is that your mate and kit, Harefoot?"

He nodded. "Yep. Eaglekit turned two moons old recently."

Eaglekit sniffed Doepaw, curious about her. "Who's this?"

Featherflight smiled. "That's your father's apprentice, Doepaw."

Eaglekit looked up at her. "Can I pway with her, Weatherfwight?"

"No, Eaglekit. She's still a young apprentice, and she has to focus on training."

"But-"

"I said, no."

Eaglekit flattened his ears and walked back to the nursery, disappointed.

"I wonder when I'll go on my first patrol," Doepaw interrupted, the sentence directed at Harefoot.

He simply smiled. "Well, who knows when? I am positive that you will go on one soon, though."

"Can it be tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'll go talk to Branchwing and see if she'll let you go on a dawn patrol tomorrow," meowed Harefoot in response.

Doepaw was overjoyed. "Alright!" she exclaimed.

She padded back to her den, happy from the fact that she might be going on the dawn patrol tomorrow. Who knows, it was only a maybe. So, she was just going to wait and see what would happen.

Doepaw awoke with a start the next day. The young she-cat was already full of energy. Perhaps it was from the fact that she was going on a dawn patrol. She leaped over to Harefoot.

"So… Am I going on the dawn patrol?" she asked.

Harefoot nodded. "You are. But, I have to come with you."

"Cool! Who's coming with us?"

"Leafpelt, Branchwing, and Pinepaw."

Doepaw shivered. She did not really like Branchwing at all. She was known to treat her apprentices harshly, according to her mother, Robinfeather. In fact, Robinfeather and Branchwing are around the same age, and was Branchwing's friend before the tabby she-cat got a mate.

"A-Alright, then," Doepaw stuttered. She walked over to Leafpelt, who was sharing tongues with Swiftbreeze, a beautiful young she-cat who was Leafpelt's daughter, and Fernkit and Swallowkit's half-sister. Their father was Ashcloud, Maplestripe's current mate. Leafpelt looked up at Doepaw.

"Oh, hi Doepaw. What do you need?" she asked.

"We're going on a patrol!" Doepaw exclaimed.

"A patrol? Why didn't Branchwing tell me earlier?" she meowed in confusion.

"I wonder why," Doepaw muttered. "Anyways, isn't Branchwing one of your kits?"

"Yes, but she hasn't been talking to me lately," Leafpelt meowed. "I'm guessing it's because she's deputy. You have a lot of things to do when you're deputy."

"Anyways, let's go." Doepaw flicked her tail, and watched as the elderly she-cat got up, then turning around to walk over to Branchwing, who was standing with Pinepaw and Harefoot. The deputy glared at Doepaw, and nodded.

"You're here?" Branchwing meowed. "Good, let's go." She flicked her tail, gesturing for the cats to follow. She led them to the border.

"Why are we at the border?" Doepaw asked.

"Doepaw, this is a border patrol," Harefoot explained. "We're here to check for trespassers, and mark the border. Now, look around. Do you see anything?"

Doepaw searched the area for any threats. Over the border, she spotted two rogues at the horseplace, she shook away the thought. They weren't going to attack WindClan, or at least, she thought. They soon ran away, heading towards RiverClan territory. She remained silent about it, not wanting to say anything about it.

 _It's RiverClan's problem now,_ she thought.

"Well, there isn't anything suspicious," Leafpelt meowed. "I think we can go on."

Branchwing sighed. "Leafpelt, you might as well become an elder soon. You're older than Foxfur." Foxfur had been an elder for a few seasons now, being forced to become one after a horrible injury.

"I'm three moons older than Foxfur," Leafpelt pointed out. "I'm not that much older than him."

"Can we please check the rest of the border?" Pinepaw interrupted. "I'm getting impatient."

"Alright," Branchwing meowed. "We'll go. Just be quiet the rest of the time we patrol the border."

Branchwing flicked her tail, gesturing for the cats to follow her. Doepaw looked around, paying attention to her surroundings. Nothing seemed threatening near the WindClan borders. However, near the border between ThunderClan and WindClan, a tawny she-cat was with a silver tabby she-cat.

 _Hazelpaw!_ she realized. _But what is she doing?_ She looked down at the river and slowly backed up.

"Doepaw, we're not going over to ThunderClan territory," Harefoot meowed. "We have to follow the Warrior Code."

Doepaw nodded. "I understand…"

Branchwing glared at her, then continued on. "Let's go. We checked the borders, and there is not a threat."

"Can we at least catch something?" Doepaw asked.

"No. This isn't a hunting patrol," she meowed. Doepaw flatten her ears and followed Branchwing. She didn't look back at Hazelpaw and the other she-cat, but she didn't want to look at other ThunderClan cat.

At the camp, Doepaw sat down, going to eat something from the fresh-kill pile. She paused as she saw Foxfur taking a vole from it.

 _Oh, right,_ she thought. _I have to wait until the kits and elders are done eating._

She sat in the WindClan camp until she saw that the kits and elders were done eating. After a while, she got up and took a plump rabbit from the fresh-kill pile. She stared down at it. The fresh-kill pile was nearly empty, although it was newleaf.

"Why isn't there a lot of fresh-kill?" Doepaw asked the tom beside her.

"Doepaw, remember that it's the beginning of newleaf. There won't be much prey for a while," he meowed. He was Ashcloud, Maplestripe's current mate.

"Thank you for the reminder, Ashcloud," she muttered. "Oh, okay. That makes sense." Doepaw looked up at the sky, thinking about the prophecy.

 _What_ does _the prophecy mean, and do I have something to do with it?_

* * *

 **A/N: So, sorry for the cheesiness of this chapter. In fact, the next few chapters will probably be boring and cheesy. Anyways, I want to get this fanfiction done before or on Jan. 1st, 2016, so I can start the next book in the Broken Path series! I doubt that will happen, but if I work hard enough, I can work on getting around 20 chapters done for this. I'll put a poll up on my profile if you want this to happen, but for now, Branchwing, out!**


	5. Chapter 4

Hazelpaw was the next cat to react to the body. "What in StarClan happened to Honeyfern?!" she yowled. Multiple other cats started to yowl in terror.

"I found her lying on the ground unconscious near the ShadowClan border," Hawkclaw explained. "I have no idea what happened to her."

Mousefrost popped out of her den and padded over to Honeyfern. She looked at the body, and shook her head. She clenched the she-cat's pelt, and dragged her to the Medicine Cat's den. Hazelpaw ran after her, wanting to see what happened to Honeyfern.

Mousefrost perked her ears up in confusion, and turned her head around to look at her. "What is it, Hazelpaw?"

"I just wanted to see if Honeyfern is alright," she meowed.

"Oh, so it's a good idea to go visit the medicine cat?" Mousefrost meowed, annoyed.

"Uh… Yes?" Hazelpaw meowed hesitantly.

"No, it's not, mouse-brain," she hissed. "Honeyfern could _die_ if I don't do something immediately. I need to be alone, so get out."

Hazelpaw flattened her ears in disappointment, and padded out of the medicine cat's den. She frowned as she walked over to Ivyheart.

"Hey Ivyheart," she muttered.

"Hi!" she exclaimed. "So, what's going on?"

"I was just wondering if we could go out and hunt," Hazelpaw replied.

"Well, okay," Ivyheart meowed. "Why?"

The question hit her like a boulder. Why? She didn't have a reason why. "W-Well… I just didn't want to be in the camp all day."

"…Okay… That's believable," Ivyheart responded. She flicked her tail, and turned around, leaving Hazelpaw to follow. She followed after her, and looked around the forest.

"Isn't it nice today?" Hazelpaw meowed suddenly.

"Yes, it's very nice. Now, please be quiet, you're scaring all of the prey away," Ivyheart meowed. Hazelpaw whimpered a bit, and continued to follow her mentor. Ivyheart soon stopped, looking around for something.

"What is it?" Hazelpaw asked.

"Please be quiet, or else you will scare all of the prey away," Ivyheart replied. "Anyways, I smell some prey."

She nodded, and remained silent. She watched as the she-cat crouched down and crawled around, looking for prey. Hazelpaw noticed a squirrel nearby, and crouched down to catch it. She snuck up to it, making sure not to step on a twig by accident. When she was close enough, she pounced, but ended up crashing into the tree instead, leaving the squirrel to escape.

 _Fox-dung!_ she cursed silently. _Hazelpaw, you're a mouse-brain._ Hazelpaw sighed, and turned around to see Ivyheart facing her, with a vole in her jaw.

"I bet you need help with your hunting," she meowed, her voice muffled by the vole fur.

"Yeah, I bet I do," Hazelpaw meowed. Ivyheart nodded slowly. She gestured for her to follow her, and Hazelpaw did so. They arrived at a place near the WindClan border. Ivyheart set down the vole.

"So, is this a good place?" she asked.

"Yeah, this will be fine, but shouldn't we hunt deeper into the forest?" Hazelpaw pointed out.

"You have a point," Ivyheart meowed. "But, it's still the forest, isn't it?"

"Yes…" she meowed.

"So, we can hunt here. Now, watch me carefully." The she-cat crouched down, looking around for prey. When she caught the scent of something, she perked her ears up, and crawled up to it. After a few moments of hesitating, Ivyheart pounced, biting down on a crow. She stood up, the crow dangling from her jaws.

"Can I try now?" Hazelpaw asked. Ivyheart nodded. She crouched down, waiting. She scented a mouse nearby, and then saw a mouse on the ground. She slowly crawled up to it, slightly hesitating, and then pounced on it. Hazelpaw bit down on the mouse hard, killing it. She got up, clenching the mouse in her jaw. Ivyheart nodded.

"Good job!" she exclaimed.

"Thanks!" Hazelpaw meowed, her voice muffled by the mouse fur. Ivyheart nodded. "Can we practice hunting some more?"

"If you want," Ivyheart meowed. Hazelpaw nodded frantically, eager to hunt some more. Ivyheart gave off a faint smile.

"Thank you! I really want to become the best hunter there is!" she boasted.

"I'm glad you believe that, but please, I'm pretty sure you won't become the best hunter," Ivyheart meowed. "Besides, what's wrong with being just a good hunter?"

"But I want to be the best!" Hazelpaw complained.

"Stop acting like a kit, and hunt," she snapped. "We're not going to get anything done by just standing here, now will we?"

Hazelpaw nodded, and crouched down again. She moved slowly, being careful not to step on a twig, as even the slightest sound could scare a mouse away. She didn't want that, she wanted to be the best warrior she could be. She scented a vole nearby, and crouched down as low as she could without accidently stepping on a twig. Hazelpaw crawled a bit faster, making sure to avoid anything that could make a sound. She saw the vole, and crept closer and closer to it, when she heard a snapping sound. The vole scuttled away, and Hazelpaw looked down at her paws… to find a twig.

"Fox-dung! I would have caught that vole if I hadn't stepped on that twig!" she thought out loud. Ivyheart looked at her, confused. Hazelpaw's ears flattened. "Oh… Sorry for saying that."

"It's okay, you'll get better," she meowed. Encouraged and motivated by Ivyheart's statement, she decided to try again. She crouched down, sniffing around for prey, but she couldn't scent anything nearby, just ThunderClan… and WindClan? She looked over at the WindClan border, seeing a group of familiar cats patrolling it. She caught the scent of WindClan cats in the air.

 _They aren't a threat,_ she thought. Hazelpaw scanned the cats, and quickly realized who the brown she-cat was. _Doepaw!_ she realized, gasping audibly. Ivyheart looked at her, puzzled.

"…Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No, nothing's wrong," Hazelpaw replied, shaking her head. "Anyways, can we head back to camp now? I want to check on Honeyfern."

"Aww, it's sweet that you care about Honeyfern," Ivyheart muttered under her breath. "Anyways, you can go back to camp after you catch one more piece of prey for the Clan, deal?" Hazelpaw nodded. "Good. Remember, I'll be watching you."

"Can I go deeper into the forest to catch this?" she asked.

"If you want, but I have to keep an eye on you," Ivyheart replied. Hazelpaw lit up in joy, and padded deeper into ThunderClan territory. She sniffed around for something to catch, and she caught the scent of a piece of prey. She crouched down, going towards the direction of the scent. Eventually, she saw a blackbird land on the ground. She crept up to it, being careful not for it to notice her. Once she got close enough, she pounced, and captured it in her paws. She bit down on its neck, and once it stopped struggling, she stood up, the blackbird dangling from her jaw.

"Good job!" Ivyheart exclaimed. "You did great, you may head back to camp now." Hazelpaw nodded, and padded back to the ThunderClan camp, with Ivyheart not far behind. She put down the blackbird she just caught, and Ivyheart put down the mouse. The she-cat watched as Mudkit, Quailkit, and Sparrowkit ran out of the nursery, racing to the fresh-kill pile.

"I'm going to get there first!" Quailkit mewed.

"No, I will! I'm the oldest!" Mudkit mewed.

"No, I'm going to get it first," Sparrowkit muttered. She hardly seemed like she wanted to go eat. In fact, it seemed like that she was sick.

"Don't fight over fresh-kill, kits!" Ravenflame called from the nursery.

"Sorry," Quailkit and Mudkit mewed in unison. Sparrowkit just put her head down. Hazelpaw walked over to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked the she-kit.

"I don't feel well," Sparrowkit mewed. "…And I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay…" Hazelpaw meowed, unsure about the kit's statement. "If you say so." She then padded to the Medicine Cat's den to check on Honeyfern. When she walked in, Mousefrost glared at her, and after a few heartbeats, she sighed. Somewhere she couldn't see, she could hear Honeyfern retching.

"What are you here for, young apprentice?" she grumbled.

"I came here to check on Honeyfern," Hazelpaw replied.

"Honeyfern? Tell Acornfoot that she has been poisoned by deathberries," Mousefrost meowed, slightly annoyed. "Now, wouldn't it be helpful if you left me alone?"

"But-"

"Just do as I say," Mousefrost snapped. "I'm older than you, and you should respect me for what I do for ThunderClan."

"Okay, I'll go tell Acornfoot," Hazelpaw muttered.

"Good," she mewed. She gave one last glare at Hazelpaw before she left.

 _Okay, so I just have to tell Acornfoot? That seems simple enough,_ she thought. _Not to mention that Acornfoot was my own_ father _before he left us for Honeyfern…_ She shook the thoughts away; she did not need to think about their relationship at all. _Still, I'm wondering who is fathering Willowwhisker's new kits._ She shook that thought away, too. _Okay, focus. I just need to go up to Acornfoot. That seems simple enough._

She padded up to Acornfoot, who was talking to a group of warriors, organizing them for a border patrol. Said warriors were Frostwhisker, Crowwish, her apprentice Dapplepaw, and Pinestem. Frostwhisker was a sleek she-cat with a snowy white pelt, and was known to be a good hunter. Crowwish was a black, battle-scarred she-cat, one who endured many battles. Hazelpaw did not know much about Pinestem, but if she knew one thing, it was that he was Acornfoot's brother. The two were close for sure, but the dark tom seemed too intimidating for her to approach.

"Hi, Acornfoot!" she interrupted. Acornfoot turned around in surprise, annoyed.

"What do you need me for?" he asked. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Mousefrost told me to tell you…" She stopped, hesitating on what to say next. Hazelpaw didn't want to make Acornfoot upset today, he had already seen Honeyfern's body yesterday… Maybe he would calmer today.

"…What do you want to tell me? Hazelpaw, I don't want you to waste my time like this," he asked again. "You know patrols are a part of my daily duties."

"Mousefrost told me… that Honeyfern was poisoned by deathberries," she finally said. Acornfoot froze in horror, his back arching, and he was shaking slightly.

"…A-Are you sure that's true?" he asked, stuttering.

"Yeah…" she murmured. Acornfoot gaped in shock, unsure on what to do next. "I'm sorry to be the one that told you the news… I know you care about her…"

"…She hasn't died, has she?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"I don't think so," Hazelpaw meowed. "I heard her… But I didn't see her. Mousefrost just told me to tell you what I just said."

Acornfoot breathed heavily. She gave a confused look at her father. He looked around frantically, unsure of what to do next.

"…Are you okay, Acornfoot?" Pinestem spoke up to break the silence.

"Yes, yes…" he breathed. After a few moments, he rushed off to the Medicine Cat's den.

"I'm pretty sure he isn't okay," Hazelpaw meowed.

"I thought so," Crowwish meowed. "He seemed very upset… Losing a mate is hard."

"So… Should I go get Sorrelstar?" Dapplepaw asked.

"Yes, please," Crowwish replied. She flicked her tail impatiently, and Dapplepaw dashed off to get the ThunderClan leader. Hazelpaw thought of Dapplepaw and Sorrelstar being related, but she was the deputy when Hazelpaw had been born, so it wasn't possible. Dapplepaw's mother died from greencough not long ago, just sunrises before Hazelpaw became an apprentice. A few moments later, Dapplepaw came back with Sorrelstar.

"So… I hear Acornfoot went to the medicine cat's den…" she meowed, and looked at the group standing before her. "It seems like he has the patrol organized," Sorrelstar meowed, slightly annoyed. "I don't see my use here." She nodded to the patrol. "You may go."

"Finally," Crowwish muttered. The patrol darted out of camp, disappearing out of sight.

The tortoiseshell was prepared to head back to her den when Hazelpaw spoke up. "Oh, Sorrelstar?" Sorrelstar stopped, and looked at her.

"Yes?"

"I'm worried about Sparrowkit and Honeyfern," Hazelpaw meowed. "Honeyfern was poisoned by deathberries, and I think that Sparrowkit is sick."

"Hazelpaw, I am worried about them, but it's not an important issue at the moment, Sorrelstar meowed. "If anything happens, Mousefrost has it under control. WindClan already suffered a nasty outbreak of greencough a few moons ago, and I'm not letting ThunderClan get it." Frowning, Hazelpaw nodded. Sorrelstar padded back to her den, and the tawny apprentice padded to the nursery, worried about Sparrowkit.

"Sparrowkit?" Hazelpaw mewed softly. Sparrowkit's ears perked up in confusion.

"Y-Yes?" she muttered quietly.

"Are you okay?" Hazelpaw meowed.

"I-I don't know…" Sparrowkit mewed. She looked up at Hazelpaw, worried. "B-But I'm sure I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" Hazelpaw asked. "I think you need to see Mousefrost," she suggested.

"No, I don't!" Sparrowkit hissed in protest. "I'm fine! Don't worry about me!"

Hazelpaw was taken aback by the kit's sudden hostility. "Well, alright," she mewed, sounding disappointed. "I'll leave now… Bye, Sparrowkit."

"Bye Hazelpaw," she kit meowed back.

She slowly walked out of the Nursery and sighed. She was afraid that Sparrowkit was sick. Hazelpaw really hoped that Sparrowkit didn't have greencough. She knew that ThunderClan needed warriors, especially now. Even when it was newleaf, greencough was still a threat, and warriors from all four Clans have died.

 _StarClan, please let Sparrowkit be alright,_ she thought. She lifted her head up. She shook away the thought, and decided to find Ivyheart.

"Ivyheart!" she yowled. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here," a voice meowed. She turned around to find the silver she-cat looking at her in confusion. "What do you need?"

"Can we go hunting?" Hazelpaw asked.

"Again?! We already went hunting today!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "…But, I like you, you're always willing to help the Clan," Ivyheart purred. "So, we will go hunting. It's never too early to hunt."

Hazelpaw purred in delight. She gestured for the apprentice to follow her, and they padded out of camp, into the forest. They came to an area close to the border, but it wasn't that close to the border. She thought that they will be fine here.

"Now," Ivyheart meowed. "I will be watching you. You're not quite ready for an assessment, but I want to see how you do. However, you should be prepared for an assessment soon."

"What kind of assessment?" she asked.

"A hunting assessment," Ivyheart muttered. "Why else would I watch you hunt?"

Speechless, the two cats continued on. The scent of mouse caught Hazelpaw's nose, and she stopped, standing still. Her ears twitched a little bit, and she looked around. A few fox-lengths in front of her, a bit of grey fur poked out of a log. Hazelpaw crouched, getting ready to pounce. She slowly sneaked up on the mouse, trusting her whiskers. Once she was close enough, she pounced. This alarmed the mouse, and it scurried away, never to be seen again.

"Mouse-dung," she muttered.

"Keep trying!" Ivyheart meowed loudly. "You'll get it eventually!"

"I've been your apprentice for a half-moon, mouse-brain," Hazelpaw snapped.

"You're still a new apprentice, you need to learn," Ivyheart meowed.

"I don't give a mousetail," the tawny she-cat snapped again. She then let out a soft sigh, and sniffed the area for the scent of prey again. Nothing.

"I can't smell anything," she meowed.

"Well, then… Let's practice your battle techniques, then," Ivyheart suggested.

"But I want to hunt!" Hazelpaw whined.

"Ugh, you're just a pain in the tail," she snapped.

"Then how about we go back to camp?" the apprentice meowed rudely.

"Look, please don't start something. You must have bees in your brain right now," Ivyheart snapped.

"Then who ruffled your fur?" Hazelpaw asked.

"Hazelpaw, enough's enough. I'd have shredded you into mousedust by now!" the silver tabby hissed, annoyed.

"I'd rather have you as crowfood!" she snapped.

"Hazelpaw. Camp, now," Ivyheart commanded.

Finally, Hazelpaw went silent. Flattening her ears, and head low, she slinked back to camp, upset. She sighed. She might as well go talk to Petalthorn now. She padded to the Elders' den, looking for Petalthorn. There, the russet she-cat laid. Hazelpaw walking in got her attention.

"Oh… Hazelpaw? What do you need?" she asked.

"…I wanted to ask about Willowwhisker's mother," Hazelpaw replied.

"Oh… Ashwhisker…" Petalthorn muttered somberly. "Yes… it was unfortunate that she died."

"So… Who was she?" the apprentice asked.

"Ashwhisker… She was my apprentice and my good friend. In fact, she was the very first apprentice Mossstar made a warrior," she explained.

"Woah…" the tawny she-cat muttered in amazement. "How did you know how she died?" Hazelpaw asked.

"Swiftfur told me. So did Blizzardclaw," Petalthorn meowed.

"Who's Blizzardclaw?" Hazelpaw asked.

"The medicine cat before Mousefrost," she meowed. "He died many moons ago."

"Was he a good medicine cat?"

Petalthorn paused for a moment, trying to remember. "He wasn't the best, I would say," she meowed. "But he served ThunderClan as our loyal medicine cat."

"Blizzardclaw is an odd name for a medicine cat, isn't it?" Hazelpaw meowed.

"Yes, but there is a good reason for that."

"What?"

"You see, Blizzardclaw wanted to be a warrior when he was a young apprentice," she started. "But…"

"But what?"

"Blizzardclaw fell off the Ancient Oak when he was trying to climb it," she continued. "He broke his leg, and it seemed to never heal. When he thought all hope was lost, Aspenfern offered him to be the medicine cat apprentice. And… he accepted."

"Then where did his name come from?" Hazelpaw asked.

Petalthorn let out a long sigh. "You like to ask questions, don't you? I guess Aspenfern wanted to honor how he was going to be a warrior."

"Is that why?"

She purred in delight. "I'm not exactly sure, but that's what I think."

"How do you know all of this?" Hazelpaw asked.

"I have lived for many moons, young apprentice," Petalthorn meowed. "I have seen many things. Blizzardclaw was just a few moons older than me, and he was one of my best friends."

"Wow… I want to live as long as you!" Hazelpaw exclaimed.

"Maybe you will, but only time can tell, Hazelpaw," the she-cat meowed. "At least I'll live on in my kin."

"Well, thanks for talking to me about Ashwhisker," she meowed.

"You're welcome," she meowed. "It's always a pleasure to share stories with the young in ThunderClan."

Hazelpaw padded off, and looked up at the sky, the sun still bright.

"It's not even sundown yet," she muttered. "…Today is going to be a long day…"

* * *

 **A/N: ...And here's the next chapter to this story that no one asked to come yet. I got the urge to finish this chapter finally, so... why not? I've been doing a few renovations to this chapter to make more sense or to possibly fill up a plothole or two. So... I hope you like this extra-long chapter, because I don't know when the next chapter will be up, to be honest. ...That is all I have to say, so Branchwing, out!**


	6. Chapter 5

Following Raindapple, Owlpaw kept up his pace. In the half-moon since the gathering, all had remained calm in WindClan. No greencough outbreaks – which was great! Owlpaw remembered the last greencough outbreak in WindClan. When he was a kit, numerous cats caught it, which was also when Owlpaw started to gain an interest in becoming a medicine cat. Many, many cats died in his Clan.

He wanted to help them so badly. He couldn't stand the thought of innocent cats dying. At the time, Raindapple wouldn't allow him to help with anything, as he was just a kit, and she was afraid he would catch greencough. A moon before he became an apprentice, the medicine cat had found an owl flying towards the direction of WindClan camp. Owlpaw also started to have strange dreams of cats with stars in their pelts too. That was the moment Raindapple realized he was destined to become a medicine cat, and StarClan had let her know through an omen.

"We're here," Raindapple whispered to Owlpaw. He stopped momentarily, and sat down next to his mentor. All of them except Mousefrost, the ThunderClan medicine cat, were here.

"Welcome," Darkheart, the ShadowClan medicine cat, greeted, and dipped his head. His apprentice, Spottedpaw, dipped her head as well, imitating him. Owlpaw was impressed by her size – she looked like a full grown warrior! Ripplerock, the RiverClan medicine cat, also dipped her head.

Raindapple dipped her head, and Owlpaw dipped his head as well. He looked around for Mousefrost, although there was no sign of her coming at all.

Finally, a gray she-cat appeared in the distance, running towards the Moonpool. When she got closer, he realized it was Mousefrost.

"Welcome, Mousefrost," Raindapple meowed. "I see you finally came."

The she-cat nodded. "Yes… A warrior was poisoned by deathberries shortly after the last Gathering. She still hasn't recovered, even though I've been trying all I can do to help her."

Owlpaw's eyes widened in shock. "Who?" he asked.

Raindapple looked at the brown tabby tom. "It's not your business," she meowed. She then looked up at Mousefrost. "May StarClan light her path," she told her.

"Now, then," Darkheart meowed. "Has anything been happening in your Clans?" he asked the other medicine cats.

"The fish have been returning," Ripplerock pointed out. "But all has been well lately."

Raindapple nodded in agreement. "Everything has been well in WindClan."

"Mousefrost," Darkheart spoke up. "I would like to thank your leader for allowing Spottedpaw and I to go onto ThunderClan territory to get catmint."

"Yeah," Spottedpaw meowed. "Many lives have been saved, thanks to Sorrelstar. Without, only StarClan knows what could have happened."

"And you, Spottedpaw, have been a fantastic medicine cat," Darkheart meowed.

Spottedpaw gasped. "Does that mean…?"

"Yes, it is time for your medicine cat ceremony."

Owlpaw started to bounce impatiently. He was going to witness a medicine cat ceremony!

"Owlpaw, please remain still," Raindapple requested.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I can't help it."

"Now then," Darkheart muttered. Like Owlpaw, the tortoiseshell she-cat appeared to be excited.

"I, Darkheart, medicine cat of ShadowClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of a medicine cat, and with your help she will serve her Clan for many moons," he started.

"Spottedpaw, do you promise to uphold the ways of a medicine cat, to stand apart from rivalry between Clan and Clan and to protect all cats equally, even at the cost of your life?"

After a moment of hesitation, Spottedpaw meowed, "I do."

Darkheart nodded. "Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your true name as a medicine cat. Spottedpaw, from this moment you will be known as Spottednight. StarClan honors your patience and dedication, and we welcome you as a full medicine cat of ShadowClan," he finished. "Well done, Spottednight. You have saved the lives of many cats during these tough times."

"Thank you," Spottednight meowed. Owlpaw could see why she was named Spottednight. The ginger on the mostly black tortoiseshell kind of looked like stars in Silverpelt.

"Now," Mousefrost meowed. "Let's share tongues with StarClan."

All of the medicine cats went silent, and touched their noses to the Moonpool. Owlpaw let the cool water touch his nose, and then he fell asleep.

He woke up on an endless moor, with nothing else in sight. He picked up the scent of another WindClan cat.

"Who's there?" he spat.

Suddenly, something tackled him, and dug its claws into his back. He let out a yowl in pain. He didn't know what to do, he hasn't learned any useful fighting techniques. Owlpaw then thought of an idea. Why not try to get it off of him?

He rolled around in the field, and got a closer look of his attacker. And it was a brown tom that Owlpaw knew all too well.

 _Pinepaw!_ he realized. _Why is he attacking me?!_

"STOP!" he yowled. He swung his legs around in protest, trying to get Pinepaw off of him. The apprentice kept clawing at him. "I don't want to do this!"

Just when he thought he had lost, a dark figure tackled the two, the figure on Pinepaw itself. Owlpaw looked over at his savior to find a dark gray tom with stars in his pelt. Something about him told the tabby medicine cat that this cat was particularly ancient. Claws unsheathed, he leaped at Pinepaw, and within one swipe, Pinepaw dissipated into thin air.

Owlpaw looked up at the mysterious tom, and the tom turned around to face him. His starry, golden eyes seemed to pierce through the medicine cat apprentice.

"H-Hello?" he stuttered, in awe from the dark gray tom.

"Hello," the tom greeted. Everything about him, even his voice, screamed that this cat was ancient. Owlpaw dipped his head in respect. As much as Owlpaw wanted to ask him his name, he thought it was best not to.

"D-Do you know why my b-brother attacked me?" he asked.

The gray tom flicked his tail. "The brown apprentice? He was your brother?" Owlpaw nodded quickly. "Well… You should know this. Even the strongest of bonds between kin can be broken."

"And how do you know?" he asked.

"Because," he meowed, "it happened to me before."

Owlpaw flattened his ears at this statement. He really cared about Pinepaw, and he knew Pinepaw cared about him, too. He tried to remember the fun times they had, wrestling with each other, and having mock battles. But recently, Pinepaw had been growing more and more distant. Owlpaw remembered Branchwing, Pinepaw's mentor, glaring and occasionally hissing at them often when they were kits. …Could this all be Branchwing's fault?

Pinepaw, horrified at the thought of this, shook it away. _No, it has to be something else… Perhaps he's just really stressed out from his training with Branchwing._

"Hello?" the gray tom meowed. "Are you listening?"

Owlpaw let out a startled meow. "Oh, sorry. Now I am."

 _"_ _The branches of the pine will be taken down by a doe near the hazel tree,"_ the ancient voice echoed.

 _This prophecy again?!_ he thought in bewilderment. _How important is it?!_

After the gray tom was done speaking, he started to fade away.

"Wait!" he yowled. "Tell me what it means!"

But he was too late. The dark gray tom was gone. A bitter feeling rose in Owlpaw's mouth. He closed his eyes, and let out a long sigh.

When he reopened them, he was back at the Moonpool. Looking around, he noticed that all of the medicine cats were still sleeping. And then, in a few heartbeats, they all started to slowly wake up.

Raindapple was the first to wake up. She shot up to her feet with a jolt and looked at Owlpaw. The other medicine cats soon followed, and looked at Raindapple.

"What's the matter?" Ripplerock asked.

"I had that dream again," she meowed.

"The one with the prophecy in it?" Mousefrost asked. Raindapple nodded.

"I-I had it again, too," Owlpaw mewed. "Except… it wasn't the same dream."

"Oh?" Raindapple muttered.

"I'll tell you about it once we get back to camp," he whispered to the pale gray she-cat. "The point is," he meowed, louder this time, "A cat still said the same prophecy."

"To be honest," Mousefrost meowed, "This time, I had a dream telling me the prophecy, too."

"Strange…" Darkheart muttered. "The medicine cats of ThunderClan and WindClan had it, but not the medicine cats of ShadowClan and RiverClan."

 _Could this mean something?_ Owlpaw wondered.

"Maybe it's only ThunderClan and WindClan's issue," Mousefrost meowed. "As much as I don't want it to be," she added quietly.

"Maybe," Spottednight added. "But it's too early to tell. They only got it just a moon ago."

"What if it's important?" Owlpaw questioned. "This could mean the end of WindClan and ThunderClan!"

"It's too early to jump to conclusions," Raindapple meowed. "Prophecies usually don't make sense until it has been fulfilled."

"I think you should tell your leaders," Ripplerock suggested. "It seems something worth telling, even if it's not important."

"Well," Darkheart meowed. "I believe we are done here."

Raindapple nodded. "Yes," she meowed. "Come on, Owlpaw. Let's go."

"Okay," he meowed. Raindapple slinked out of view, and the tabby apprentice followed.

When they got back to camp, everything was calm. The majority of the cats there were sleeping, except for Littletail and Crowclaw, who were standing guard for the camp.

"Welcome back," Littletail meowed quietly. The two guards dipped their heads towards the medicine cats, and let the two through.

The two cats stood in the clearing of camp, looking around. Owlpaw tried his best to stay awake.

"You look tired," Raindapple whispered to him. "You may go to sleep, if you want. We have to wait until Spiderstar wakes up to tell him the prophecy, anyways."

"No, no," he muttered. "I'm fine…"

Yawning, Owlpaw laid on the ground, and curled up to go to sleep.

"…I knew you weren't," she muttered.

The cry of a cat woke up Owlpaw with a start. Turning around to the source of the sound, a white kit limped to Raindapple. The tom walked up to them to see what the matter was.

"Eaglekit!" Featherflight cried. "What happened?!"

"My paw hurts!" he cried.

"Let me see," Raindapple instructed. Eaglekit lifted up his paw. What Owlpaw thought was a thorn was stuck in the pad of the tiny kit's paw. "Yikes… That looks bad."

"Will he be okay?!" the silver queen asked.

"He will," she meowed. "It'll just take a little bit of time to heal." The medicine cat then turned to face Owlpaw. "Owlpaw!"

Owlpaw looked up at Raindapple. "Yes?"

"Could you fetch me some dock and dandelion?" she requested. "There should be some in my herb supply."

"Sure thing," he meowed. He padded off to the medicine cat's den, and went to Raindapple's herb supply.

The herbs were sorted neatly by plant. Owlpaw tried to remember what Raindapple had told him about what dock and dandelion looked like.

 _Dandelions have yellow flowers and long, hollow stems,_ Raindapple's voice echoed in his head. He heard a little mew of pain come from somewhere. He guessed it was Eaglekit.

Owlpaw scanned the area for what he believed to be dandelions. Soon enough, he found the yellow plant. There was not a lot of it, but figured there was enough of them. He grabbed a bundle of them, and headed back to where Raindapple and Eaglekit was. He dropped them on the ground next to her.

"Thank you for the dandelions, Owlpaw," she meowed. "But I still need dock."

"…What does it look like?" he asked sheepishly. He glanced up at Eaglekit's pad. The thorn was out of it, although it wasn't quite healed yet.

"Dock is a large leaf. It has a tangy smell, so you'll know if it's dock or not," she instructed.

He nodded. "Got it." He padded back to the medicine cat's den, and searched the herb piles for dock leaves. He sniffed each pile of large leaves, and at last, he picked up a tangy smell coming from a large pile of leaves. This was definitely dock. He picked up a bundle of it and headed back out.

"I got it!" he meowed, it muffled by the bundle he was holding in his mouth.

"Good job," Raindapple purred. "I bet you'll make a fine medicine cat one day."

He put down the dock next to the shrinking dandelion pile. "Really?!" he exclaimed. "Thank you!"

"No problem," she muttered. "Now, watch me carefully."

A white liquid coming from the dandelions was applied to the wound. Owlpaw watched carefully how she applied it, so that it would apply in the future.

"The liquid from the dandelions can help heal bee stings," she explained. She turned her head towards Owlpaw. "Could you chew up a dock leaf for me?"

"Okay." The brown tabby tom did as instructed.

"Alright. Now you need to apply the chewed-up leaf to the wound," she instructed. "You've watched me do it before. I bet you know how to."

Owlpaw walked up to Eaglekit, and did as instructed, remembering what he had learned from watching Raindapple.

"Good, good," she meowed. "Could you fetch me a little bit of marigold? I don't want his paw to get infected. Oh, and a few leaves as well."

"It's also a yellow flower, right?" Owlpaw asked, just to make sure.

Raindapple nodded. With that, he padded back to her herb supply and grabbed a small bundle of marigold. He came back with the requested plants.

"Good," she meowed.

By the time she was done, a hunting patrol consisting of Doepaw, Harefoot, Spiderstar, and Ashcloud had just returned. They brought plenty of fresh-kill for the Clan. Like the warriors had expected, prey had started to return to the moor, and with the smaller Clan, everyone was well-fed.

"Thank you very much," Featherflight meowed. "I was worried sick as to what could have happened to him."

"You're welcome," Raindapple meowed.

"Hey," Owlpaw whispered to the medicine cat. "Let's talk to Spiderstar about the prophecy now."

"That's what I was thinking," she replied. "Let's go."

"Spiderstar!" he meowed to the black tom. The leader stopped in his tracks, and saw Raindapple and Owlpaw. He walked up to them.

"Yes?" he meowed.

"…We have something important to discuss," she meowed. "…Let's not talk about it here."

"If you say so," Spiderstar meowed.

The three cats went into the leader's den, and sat down. Raindapple and Owlpaw were sitting next to each other, facing him.

"So…" Owlpaw started.

"We received a prophecy at the Moonpool last night," Raindapple continued. "And we believe it could be important to WindClan."

"Oh?" Spiderstar mewed, suddenly intrigued by the prophecy. "What is it?"

"'The branches of the pine will be taken down by a doe near the hazel tree'," Owlpaw meowed. "I'm not sure what it means."

"What did you see when you received the prophecy?" the black leader asked.

"There was a large field of blood," Raindapple started. "Many cats were dead, although there were none I could recognize. In the middle of the field was a giant pine tree with large branches... kind of like wings."

Spiderstar's face flooded with worry. _Was something wrong?_ Owlpaw meowed. _Maybe he has an idea who it is talking about._

"Then, I heard the voice of Specklestar whisper the prophecy to me," she finished. "And then I woke up."

 _Specklestar?_ Owlpaw blinked for a few heartbeats. _Is that the cat who was speaking to me in my last dream?_ He had heard stories of the former WindClan leader, and how he lost his last life to a storm that took place not long before Owlstar's kitting.

"Specklestar gave you it?" he meowed, surprised. "It must be an important prophecy, indeed."

"But we don't know if it really is important," Owlpaw pointed out.

"How about we keep it a secret for now," Raindapple suggested. "That gives us three more time to think about it."

"I agree," Spiderstar meowed. "Do you, Owlpaw?"

After a moment of hesitation, he nodded. "Yeah, I agree."

"Alright, it's settled," the leader concluded. "After the next time you go to the Moonpool, we can discuss this further."

Raindapple nodded. "Right. We don't want the Clan to worry yet."

"OK," Spiderstar meowed. "You are dismissed, you two."

Dipping their heads, the two medicine cats walked out of the leader's den, and headed back to the medicine cat's den.

"You did a good job today," Raindapple praised.

"Thanks!" he mewed in response. The gray she-cat went over to her herb supply.

"Hmm…" she muttered. "It looks like we need more coltsfoot."

Owlpaw padded up to Raindapple. "Coltsfoot?"

"It's a plant that eases breathing and cracked and sore pads," she explained. "We can find some in ShadowClan's territory."

Owlpaw looked at the medicine cat, confused. "Why do we need it now?"

"You never know when an elder will complain about cracked or sore pads," she meowed. "Newleaf is the best time to get some."

"So… Can you show me?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes. I'll tell Spiderstar we're leaving."

He nodded. Raindapple then left the medicine cat's den. Owlpaw had to admit he was a little nervous. It would be the first time he ventured into ShadowClan territory. But, he should have nothing to worry about… right? Medicine cats were allow to traverse other Clans' territory if needed.

"Alright," Raindapple meowed, coming back. "He said we could go."

"Okay," he meowed. "Let's go."

The two medicine cats padded out of camp, towards the direction of ShadowClan territory. Still on Owlpaw's mind was the prophecy.

 _…_ _Maybe I shouldn't worry about it. She did say it's too early to tell if it's important or not…_

* * *

 **A/N: Annd I got the motivation for some reason to write chapter 5.** ** _In a day._** **Yes, I was that motivated. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this possibly-rushed chapter featuring Owlpaw's PoV. ...With probably the only purpose is for Owlpaw character development. Despite the fact that I had a shit ton of motivation to write this chapter, I'm not sure if chapter 6 will come out as soon as this one. With that being said, Branchwing out!**


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